In Pierre Mossut’s letter to Marquis de Gallifet, he mentions that there is a driver behind the actions of the slaves that he does not understand, “There is a motor that powers them and that keeps powering them and that we cannot come to know.” (pg 94) What do you think this driver is and why do you think that Mossut doesn’t understand it?

The driver behind this revolution was how badly slaves were being treated and how they didn’t want to be in slavery anymore. The fact that this revolution is being driven by the experiences of the slaves is one reason that Mossut can’t seem to understand the revolt. He does not understand the experiences and the lives of slaves as he is a free white man. Being added to the lack of understanding is the previous ideas and notions that Mossut and other white people have about slaves and colored people. Mossut states “All experienced planters know that this class of men have neither the energy nor the combination of ideas necessary for the execution of this project” (pg94). So not only do they know that these slaves are being worked so hard they shouldn’t have extra energy, but they also think that slaves do not have the intelligence to organize a revolt like this. Mossut’s lack of understanding of what it means to be a slave as well as slaves themselves is what prevents him from knowing what is driving the revolts.